PIC

Pic,  Bass and Backing Vocals

 I started playing bass at the age of sixteen in 1978 after learning guitar and drums, however the band my school friend Graham McGarrick was in needed a bass player and at the time I was so desperate to be in a band I started playing  bass and so joined his band and that is where our 35 years as a rythmn section began, my first bass was borrowed from a friend it was a 'Woolies audition' bass, yes Woolworths used to do guitars, untunable and unplayable i realised to stay in the band i neaded a better guitar, so with the aid of bank of mum and dad bought my black Fender jazz bass which i still use to this day. the band was called Bureau de Change and lasted about 3 years alongside my life long friend Les Cadwallader on guitar, playing mainly our own songs and lots of Bowie covers. After the dimise of bureau de change I did various things solo and with Les, I spent a long time in a country band ! !!
Then alongside Les I started All About Blondes, being joined by Graham on drums with Fiona window on vocals and Martin Haymes on keys, again playing mainly our own material in a rocky Deacon Blue style, we had lots of local radio airplay and lot of interest but unfortunately this was short lived and the band folded in 89 at this time I moved to my first 5 string a Washburn, and then joined another band with les called The Argounauts, with frontman Paul Moss singing and writing most of the songs a very quirky Kinks meets The Who and the Beautiful South, It was at this time I joined Primitive Instinct as well, after meeting Nick at Graham's recording studio for the first time when he walked in while I was listening to the first PI cassette, oh how it boosted his ego !!! So I joined in July 1990, since then PI has become big big part of my life, and a very important part it is a living breathing thing, far greater than the sum of its part, members have come and gone but we remain friends with all of them . Over my time with PI I have done various other musical project and been in other bands, most recently joining 'Just Floyd ' and before that the boozy blues band 'Drrink' but PI is always there its more an institution than a band. So as Primitive Instinct celebrates its silver wedding anniversary, I feel honoured to be part of something that has meant so much to so many people over the last 2 and a half decades.

Playing.....
I would describe my playing as busy melodic, I love locking in with the vocal line and drums and digging little lines out, I hate playing a song the same twice, there is always something new to pick out or embellish, I'm no musician and I don't know a mixalodian from a pentatonic scale and probably never will. I just love the feel of a low howling bass as it kicks in on a song and you feel your chest cavity move.


The noises come through... 
A Trace Elliott ancient combo forced into a Hartke combo cab, its not pretty and it's not clever, but it has been a part of PI since I started
and it would be like having your Gran put down if I got rid of her.
Update 
Amp 
TC Electronics BG 250
Axes
Fender Jazz 1978
Gibson Grabber 1976 (Now Fretlass)
Warwick Streamer 5 String
Hohner 6 String
Wasburn B105 5 String
Hofner Violin Bass
Ibanez Artcore Semi Acoustic